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3 “54° 40’ OR FIGHT” Mid-1840’s—US wanted to expand its territory1844—James Polk ran for presidentHis slogan: “54° 40’ or fight”He won and in 1845, tried to negotiate with British government for the Oregon TerritoryNeither wanted war the 1818 boundary was extended along the 49th parallel to the Pacific OceanBritish kept control of VancouverLand south of Vancouver became American

4 James Douglas1848—British government created the Crown colony of Vancouver IslandJames Douglas became governorDid not like AmericansEncouraged British settlement in the colonyThought prospective colonists should receive a free grant of landBritish government wanted to recreate the English class system

5 English Class System Settlers purchased land at 1 an acrePROCESSRESULTSettlers purchased land at 1 an acreMinimum 20 acre purchaseSettlers who bought over 100 acres had to bring 5 people to work the landSmall numbers of landownersMany servants to farm the land1849—all settlers were ex-HBC workers

6 Mining Starts 1840’s—Coal discovered near NanaimoImmigrants arrived to be minersRoyal Navy became their first customerEsquimalt harbor established next to Fort Victoria as a naval baseWarships needed a supply of coalMid-1850’s—more mines established at Cumberland north of Vancouver Island

7 Landed GentryRoyal Navy were ‘gentlemen’ and were a big part of Victorian social lifeCame from the privileged class in EnglandDouglas liked social gatherings but:Didn’t like the Royal Navy for not owning any land but still being of a high classHe and ex-HBC workers didn’t like the landed gentry because they were shunned and prejudiced

8 Legislative Assembly 1856—Douglas created a Legislative AssemblyResponse to ex-HBC’s complaints:Vancouver Island was becoming a private club for the landed gentryWas small with 7 voted representativesOnly landowners could voteAbout 40 of 450 adult citizens owned landDouglas wanted final say in the colonyAssembly could pass resolutions but not enforce themCould grant monies for the government’s useThis took power from the landed gentry because they did not have property and therefore could not vote

9 NATIVE NEGOTIATIONS1855—774 immigrants on Vancouver Island and over 30,000 aboriginal peoplesDouglas had to negotiate with them to attract more settlers so the colony would growThey had lived there longer and had all of the rich farmland between Fort Victoria and NanaimoDouglas’s idea:They would surrender the landThey would have fishing and hunting rights on the surrendered land

10 A TREATY1854—One of his treaties where ‘our’ refers to the Native peoples:The conditions of, or understanding of, this sale is this, that our village sites and enclosed fields are to be kept for our own use, for the use of our children, and for those who may follows after us; and the land shall be properly surveyed hereafter. It is understood, however , that the land itself, with these small exceptions, becomes the entire property of the white people forever; it is also understood that we are at liberty to hunt over the unoccupied land, and to carry on our fisheries as formerly.

11 COMPENSATION Each family got an annual £210 shillingsSeemed Douglas was leasing the landGovernments of Britain, Canada and BC know the aboriginal peoples had title to the landsDouglas treaties were the only of the sort to be negotiated in the 19th Century

13 A FANTASYPeople believed they could run along a creek pick up fist-sized nuggets and be wealthy overnightHow to find gold in real life:Stake a claim (buy a spot) that you and maybe your workers would workSink a mine shaft down to bedrock and bring it to the surfaceGold-bearing clay and sand would be washed away to reveal goldWas a very tedious process

14 SACRAMENTO GOLD RUSH1848—Gold was discovered along the Sacramento River in California1849—Thousands left their jobs and homes to travel to CaliforniaWent overland across the USWent overseas around the tip of South America and up the PacificFew survived the journeyFew survivors got richFew made it back

15 49’ERS Yeah, a football teamNamed after the prospectors who showed late and ended up working for original claim holdersLate-comers were broke and unemployed by the mid-1850’sMoved to Washington and Oregon after the gold rush ended

16 RIVER RUSHES1857—HBC trader arrived in Fort Victoria with 2 vials of gold dust which he panned in the Thompson RiverHe presented the gold to Governor DouglasDouglas feared the news of a gold rush would bring floods of greedy miners into his colonyWinter of —His fear became a realityEx-California rushers moved up to the banks of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers

17 SAN FRANCISCO 1858—Word reached San FranciscoHundreds of unemployed miners tried to book tickets on any ship going northFirst ship to arrive was the YosemiteApril 25, 1858 about 450 miners landed in Fort VictoriaShips continued to arriveEnd of the Summer—Over 10,000 miners were working on the Fraser RiverMostly Americans

18 TOO MANY AMERICANSDouglas was afraid of territorial expansion of the USContacted the Colonial Office in LondonMade Douglas Governor of the Crown colony of BC1859—Britain sent a group of Royal Engineers under Colonel Richards MoodyProvided a level of military authority in the new colonyThey surveyed the region, giving technical assistance in building roads and towns

20 CARIBOO GOLD RUSH1859—Gold deposits in the Fraser River had been depletedMiners thought the gold has eroded from a larger source upstreamThe moved upstream, searching for the source—Miners found the source that fed the Fraser River:The Cariboo region in south central BC

21 The Cariboo Road1860’s—Douglas realized his colony wasn’t getting any profit from the miningAll gold taken from BC was taxableDouglas decided to build a road to the goldfieldsThis would ensure gold left via the Fraser and not US territoryIt would also promote settlement and encourage economic development

22 THE ROUTES Lake Harrison and Lillooet RiverLong RouteShort RouteLake Harrison and Lillooet RiverTook some steamer routes along the interiorEasierExpensiveThrough the Fraser CanyonDangerousCheaperThis route was chosen for the cost, although it was more difficult to make1862—Construction started

23 THE COMPLETION A marvellous feat of engineeringCovered 650Km from Yale along the Fraser Canyon to the new centre of Cariboo, BarkervilleTook 4 years to completeOver $Mid-1860’s—Gold rush was endingGold revenues were falling fast when road was completedThe colony took the loss hard and did not recover for a long time

25 NEED FOR UNIONRapid loss of population and revenue hurt the two coloniesSuffered great financial lossesRepresentatives from BC and Vancouver Island wanted to join the coloniesThis would help economically1866—Vacouver Island had a $ debtBC had just over $ of debtMay—Both colonies found out their local bank credit had run out

26 BC IS BORNBritish colonial office agreed with the idea of uniting the BC and Vancouver Island coloniesDid not want to give large subsidiesAugust 6, 1866—British government formally united the two colonies to form British ColumbiaGovernor Seymour; more popular, became the new colony’s governorLegislative Assembly was established with 23 membersOnly 9 were elected5 representatives from the mainland and 4 from the Island

27 ? UNION WAS NOT THE CURE? Union did not solve their problemsPopulation continued to declineMoney problems also continuedA more permanent solution was needed?

28 FACTIONS OF CONFEDERATIONThere were three groups:Strongly opposed ConfederationSupported ConfederationSupported annexation by the USMostly Victoria businessmen—Debate was never-endingBC’s future was unknown

29 A STEP TOWARDS CONFEDERATION1868—Election held for Legislative AssemblyMainland—Candidates supported confederationIsland—Candidates were against confederationGovernor Seymour died suddenly while touring the northern communitiesAnthony Musgrave, John A. Macdonald’s personal friend, was Seymour’s successorMacdonald had recommended MusgraveInstructions from the British Colonial Office:Get BC to join Canada as quickly as possible

32 CPR PROPOSITIONElected mainland representatives supported ConfederationJanuary, 1868—Forwarded resolutions to the government of CanadaProposed that Canada be responsible for BC’s debtFederal government should build a transcontinental railway as a link to the EastResolutions were overpowered in the Legislative Assembly by a vote of 12-4Mainland representatives spent the year promoting Confederation through the pressBelieved only the public’s support could convince the governor and his supporters

33 ANNEXATIONISTSCirculated a petition to be sent to President Grant in WashingtonIn Victoria, a population of 3000, only 125 signatures were collectedAnnexation was not popularMusgrave decided to co-opt the anti-confederation supportersThey would make a policy on the terms of union and travel to Ottawa together to present the propositionCanadian government agreed and construction was to begin within 2 years and be completed in 10

34 RAILWAY SURVEY Macdonald had no idea of the cost of the railwayInterior BC was mostly unknownFederal government sent out surveyors to find all possible routesThis bought time to find a way to finance the railway2 major groups:Island politicians wanted the railway to go across the central interior down the Homathco Rive to Bute Inlet, across the Georgia Strait to the IslandMainland politicians wanted the route through the Fraser Canyon to the Burrard Inlet

35 “BATTLE OF THE ROUTES”Alexander Mackenzie succeeded John A. Macdonald as Prime MinisterHe was reluctant to build the railway1870’s—Groups pressured the government to pick their route for the CPR1878—21 routes has been considered for personal benefit

36 NO METROPOLIS 1881—Port Moody was the designated terminus for the CPRSpeculators bought land, buying into the future metropolis1884—William Van Horne arrived to make the precise location for the terminusDiscovered the harbour was made of tidal flatsCould not hold deep-sea vessels needing to dock to load and unload cargoContinues his search for anchorage

37 NEW TERMINUS1884—William Van Horne arrived in Port Moody and was greeted by David OppenheimerHe took Horne around Gastown and rowed him through the inner and outer harboursHorne was impressed by the amount of land that could be used for the terminusOppenheimer offered half his land to the CPR as well as other landholders to seal the dealSmart because he knew the price of land would skyrocket with the CPR terminus there1885—CPR was completed

39 THE YOUNGEST COMMUNITYYoungest major community in BCOther major centres started with fur trade or the Cariboo Gold RushDuring this time settlers were discouraged because:Burrard Inlet isn’t fed by a major riverVancouver’s peninsula is covered by a dense forest

40 “GASSY JACK” 1865—Hastings Sawmill opened south of the inletNorth of the inlet Swell Moody opened a mill in what is now North Vancouver1868—“Gassy Jack” Deighton opened a saloon near the Hastings Mill because it was dryOther stores and saloons were openedCalled “Granville” or “Gastown” after the founder

41 DAVID OPPENHEIMERMoved to the slightly populated area near the Burrard Inlet in the decline of the Cariboo Gold RushThought it would become a major portWas confident that Vancouver would win the “Battle of the Routes” and become the terminus1877—Bought a huge amount of land south of the inlet

42 “THE FATHER OF VANCOUVER”By 1885—Oppenheimer owned most of the land in Vancouver1888—Ran for mayor and won by acclamationIn 4 years of being mayor he:Concentrated on infrastructureLaid pipes under Burrard Inlet to carry water from watersheds on the north shoreMuch of Vancouver’s water comes from this source todayBuilt a sewage systemBankrolled an electric streetcar system and a power company called BC Electric to run the systemDonated land for school, parks and with a new city council, established Stanley Park as a permanent green spaceEncouraged steamer companies to open the area to trade across the Pacific

44 People Responsible Government: Contractor: Landed Gentry: Title:a government in which the executive council is responsible to the legislative assembly, whose members are representatives of the peopleone who supplies workersthe British upper class “landed” in another countryestablished or recognized right to something

45 Verbsto go back and try to extract more gold from and area after is has already been workedto sell work at a lower price than averageto bring someone into a group by capitalizing on their strengths, even if they disagree with youthe legal right to mine gold, or other minerals, on a specific piece of landto search for gold by panning gravelto increase the price of something dramaticallyTo rework:To undercut:To co-opt:To stake claim:To pan:To inflate:

46 Money Shilling: Subsidy: Black Market Economy: Head Tax: Frugal:Speculators:Bankrolled:an old British coinage, about one twentieth of a pounda directs financial aid from a higher level of governmentan illegal or completely unregulated economy where normal price controls do not applya tax imposed on each person entering a countrycareful with moneypeople who buy and sell land for profitfunded

47 Land an imaginary line north or south of the equator Parallel:a low-lying marshsolid rock underneath looser materials suck as soila town that provides services to people engaged in one main industrya chief cityParallel:Tidal Flat:Bedrock:Service Town:Metropolis: